Technology Startup HaloBraid Raises $7 Million

Entrepreneur and Harvard alum Yinka Ogunbiyi has launched a robotics startup to spare the technical and physical issues associated with braiding hair.

HaloBraid aims to help salons accelerate braiding with its debut SKU, a patent-pending braiding assistant for professional stylists, slated for release later this year.

The company has raised a reported $7 million in a seed round led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture firm, Seven Seven Six. Ohanian is married to Serena Williams with whom he shares two children who wear braids.

Other investors in the seed round include AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. The startup will reportedly use the funding for product development, manufacturing and securing salon partnerships.

While details of the assistant were not immediately disclosed, a stylist starts the braiding before handing the task off to HaloBraid, which can finish the rest of the braid “in seconds,” according to the brand. The product is designed to be gentle on hair and can finish knotless and box braids.

HaloBraid would help save time and spare frustration and even health concerns. Ogunbiyi found that people spend an estimated eight billion hours braiding hair each year. In her survey of 2,000 people, she reported 95% said they would get their hair braided more often if it took less time in the salon chair. In addition to working long hours, nimble-fingered stylists are prone to health issues like carpal tunnel or arthritis.